Considering buying another SLR

fdigital said:
Olympus OM viewfinder blows away the nikon fm and the pentax spotmatic. It's actually the biggest 35mm viewfinder I've ever looked through, and it's plenty bright. Haven't used a contax SLR so can't compare with that. But I'll be surprised if it's much bigger than an OM finder.
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And that's the thing that blows me away about the Oly finder ... not just the brightness but the size of it. My FM3A wasn't far behind the OM finder in brightness but it looked very small by comparison.
 
The OM4 has an adjustable diopter that is a good bet for us older folks with aging eyes. And, as Paul pointed out, it's easy to get diopters for the FM2 and FE2. I would stay away from the FM or FE, though. The finders are much darker that the later FM2/FE2.
 
The OM's certainly have higher magnification finders, which give a beautiful, big image. The cost of higher magnification is eye relief, though. If you wear glasses, that's a big deal.
 
supposedly the leica r8 / r9 have great viewfinders. i've never used one though.

my spotmatic ii viewfinder is quite dim even after a cla. that's just how it is.
 
I've had a number of OM-2n's over the years, and they are great cameras, but I've gotten a little shy of them lately. I've seen a lot of them that have developed a specific metering problem, where they work in Auto mode but not in manual mode (and a few that work in manual and not auto). If you are going to buy one, confirm that the metering is working correctly.
 
For a very nice finder I would go along with what others have said about the OM cameras and the OM1 in particular. I have had two OM1s and sold both because I came from another system and just could not get along with the control placement. Also the OM1 has a reputation for finder prism problems and that may or may not be confined to a certain serial number range. If you are looking at Nikon I would say to check out an FM2n. A very reliable body that is smaller and lighter than their pro bodies. Again if you have eye problems various diopters are available to help correct vision problems.

Bob
 
ZeissFan said:
In general, the viewfinders of the Yashica/Kyocera Contax SLRs are significantly brighter than most of their peers, including Nikon (the FM/FE is poor by comparison), Olympus, Pentax, Minolta and Canon.

I was surprised by how much brighter the screens were. The Yashica-branded SLRs are OK but not nearly as bright as their Contax siblings.

Regarding the Spotmatic, if you like your lenses, you could move into a Pentax K body and pickup an M42-K mount adapter.

Or simply start over with a different brand.

I still have my original Nikons (F2A and FE) that I bought new in 1979 and 1980 plus a small selection of Nikkor lenses -- 20, 28, 50, 105 -- and a couple of Vivitar Series 1 zooms.

But I also have other systems, because we I can. Lately, I've been shooting a lot with a Rolleiflex SL 35 E and a handful of lenses.
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Absolutely so on the Contax cameras and glass! Hard to beat. Their otf auto flash is incredibly accurate as well.

dogbunny - check your PMs.
 
Thanks everyone. It looks like I just don't do well with dim finders. I will poke around the Hong Kong used shops this weekend. I realize that in the end this probably is related to my own ability, but I just get frustrated getting photos back from the developer and shots that I thought I nailed are off.

Now, who can give me a good excuse? I need to explain to my wife why my new camera is somehow different/better/needed more than what I have now. :)

db
 
If you're as happy with your M42 glass as you say, just find a Fujica M42 SLR. Viewfinders are excellent, with a micro prism and split focus screen. I wear glasses and find them a breeze to focus with. The later Fujicas have silicon meter cells that are less influenced by colour and more reliable than cds cells, and use easy to find batteries that last very well. Some models, such as the ST705 for instance, will open aperture meter with certain lenses, (although stop down metering doesn't bother me, most of the time). They're good buying, too. In some markets they were more expensive than a Spotmatic to buy new, originally.

Regards,
Brett
 
Sarcophilus Harrisii said:
If you're as happy with your M42 glass as you say, just find a Fujica M42 SLR. Viewfinders are excellent, with a micro prism and split focus screen. I wear glasses and find them a breeze to focus with. The later Fujicas have silicon meter cells that are less influenced by colour and more reliable than cds cells, and use easy to find batteries that last very well. Some models, such as the ST705 for instance, will open aperture meter with certain lenses, (although stop down metering doesn't bother me, most of the time). They're good buying, too. In some markets they were more expensive than a Spotmatic to buy new, originally.

Regards,
Brett
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Nobody would ever hear me complain about the ST 801 and ST 901, both of which I have. I have also had the AZ-1, but didn't like it as well. One day when I have the time, I want to test the 50mm f/1.4 lenses of Fujinon, Contax, and Minolta, against each other. I expect the Fujinon and Contax to be difficult to tell the difference from each other. The Minolta probably not too far behind. I wish I had some Konica glass to throw into the mix.
 
dogbunny said:
[...]

Now, who can give me a good excuse? I need to explain to my wife why my new camera is somehow different/better/needed more than what I have now. :)

db
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Show her photos you have made of her. An with regard to a new SLR - decide on the system how you would potentially use (going digital at some point with it, for example) and not too much on a singular property. Getting a camera with a better viewfinder as the Spotmatic should be a reachable goal.

Rgds
Ivo
 
I used a Pentax Spotmatic F in the 70s and recently put together a nice set of lenses and an SF F body... but focus was a challange soooo... I was able to locate and buy a junk SP F with a split image focus screen and swapped out the (not great for me) microprism focus screen. Much better!!

BUT... around the same time I started to use a F3HP... a world of difference. A little more expensive than the Pentax, but now thinking to sell the SMCT system... or maybe keep both ;-).

understatement: nice glass available for the F3 system as well...

Casey
 
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